Three ways to lose weight without breaking a sweat!

So you’ve put on some pounds and you want them to shift, but the whole sweating melarchy? It’s not your thing. I get it. If there was only a way to lose weight without having to sweat…

No, this is not a scam, you really can lose weight with these three things… but it’s not as easy as you think. Notice how I said “without putting in the sweat” not “work”… because although you don’t necessarily need to go wild on the exercise, you still need to put in the work!

Are you listening? OK

Here are 3 ways to shift the weight without breaking a sweat:

Daily walking

Believe it or not, a brisk or leisurely long walk can have a greater impact than running. Why? The simple reason that it is low impact so reduces your risk of injury dramatically and it means that you can do it daily without needing to take days off for rest.

When you walk, there is little strain on your joints as one foot is always firmly on the ground unlike running! Additionally, it can be used for rehabilitation and once you’ve regained your strength, you can start to increase the speed and distance the more you walk. Yes, It may be more time consuming, but you’re more likely to keep it up! If you walk 10k steps a day, every day, you can look to drop 1 pound a week so it’s an effective exercise if you add it to your daily routine!

The benefits include a reduced risk of stroke, heart disease, improved cardiovascular, lung, and heart fitness, increased stamina, and of course, weight loss - amongst other things. Since walking is a lot less intense than running, it means you stay in a good heart rate range as opposed to the higher ranges of 80 -90% (For those of you with a heart rate monitor) which means your body uses the fat reserves to burn whilst moving.

As a result, you can reduce weight around your waist and legs, and if you increase from a leisurely to brisk walk you’ll also be burning more calories whilst keeping it relatively low impact. The longer walks also allow you to tone your legs, glutes and abs, and body in general, so what’s not to love!?

Other benefits include mental relief as you get some air and space to mentally relax. If you’re someone who likes to multitask, you can listen to podcasts or music to keep you entertained on your long walks! You can even walk with others (social distanced of course) and have long chats which are also beneficial (though phone calls are a shout too!). What I love about walking is that it’s not exclusive! You can be fit, unfit, old or young, and you’ll still manage to see the positive effects!

So what are you waiting for? Wrap up warm, put on a good playlist, and get on those walking boots! You can try with 10k steps a day and look to increase in either time or distance or you can go on a long walk and stop when you want… go on, you might just surprise yourself!

Food intake

Believe it or not, the snatched body you want is made in the kitchen! In fact, I'd say diet accounts for about 70% of weight loss so it’s less about the exercise and more about consumption (I did say no sweating!). Remember, the ultimate (and super simplified) equation for weight loss or gain is as follows:

For weight loss: Calories in < Calories out.

For weight gain: Calories in > Calories out.

If we apply that equation to weight loss, it means we need to consume less than we burn. Pretty simple right? This means that we need to look at our diet and cut out any unnecessary calories but also make sure that the calories we do put in our body are nutritional and working for us. This is not an excuse to live on junk food within means okayyy!? Have a proper look at your diary and consider logging your food. A great app that I use is MyFitnessPal which also breaks down the macronutrients for you and allows you to stay on track (and honest with yourself) for at least the first few weeks. Better still, the app is free!

Portion control may be effective for the majority as it doesn’t limit your options but instead allows you to eat within your meals. If you’re tracking on an app such as MyFitnessPal, you will be able to set your daily targets and check that you have stayed within these limits. If you’ve never used these kinds of apps before, I'd highly recommend that you try it just so that you get a better idea of how much is in each meal. You may be shocked to find out that things are higher in calories than you had thought! Because of this, people like to food prep as it means you’re not eating out of boredom and there is always a meal ready for you. If food prepping sounds like something you’d be interested in, then “how to prep like a pro” is worth a read!

Switching up your diet from say meat to fish or plant-based may also see a change in weight as these dishes tend to be a lot less in calories overall. This time of the year many people like to try veganary, which is a plant-based diet, and often report many positive effects. It’s important to note that if you do cut out a food group, that you are able to substitute it correctly so that you maintain a balanced diet. If you’re doing veganary this month, do check out my post on veganary if you want inspo for your plant-based dishes!

Apart from eating less and eating smaller portions, there are other ways to help prevent over-eating such as doing Intermittent fasting. It’s where you fast for a period of the day and eat during a small window of roughly 8 hours. Not only does it allow you to break down food, but it gives you less time to eat, which in turn will (in theory) reduce your calorie intake. If you want to know more, feel free to read my post on Intermittent fasting.

This leads me to my final point…

Drinking MORE water

Surprisingly, water can have a bigger impact on weight loss than you think! I know it’s not food and I wouldn’t recommend this as a food substitute at allll but it’s beneficial to know how drinking more can reduce your intake.

In most cases, we snack because we’re bored. We just want to munch on something or satisfy a craving but we’re not actually hungry. It’s the extra snacking here and there that will be the culprit to the extra pounds when drinking water could suppress the craving in the first place. The good thing about water is that it has no calories and is very hydrating which means you have more energy for longer and don’t have to rely on snacks when it isn’t necessary.

Drinking 2litres of water within the first hour of waking up is also very beneficial. As you know, our body is made up of mainly water (around 60%) though many of us are not drinking enough (water that is- you alcoholics!). By drinking early in the morning, you rehydrate the body, delay hunger pangs, and feel more refreshed, alert, and ready for the day. If I were to ask you now if you drink water first thing in the morning (or even regularly throughout the day), how many of you can honestly say you consume enough water?

Lastly, replacing juices, alcohol, and other drinks removes the calories and sugar from your diet! All those sugary drinks, juices, and milkshakes are filled with hidden calories so by cutting it out, you make the weight loss equation that much easier!

And that’s it folks! Try to incorporate these three things and you should notice a change in your weight! The truth is, weight loss is simple once you know it, but it’s not so easy to do when there are so many temptations around! It’s important to be honest and truthful with yourself when looking to drop some weight. What is it that is causing the weight gain and what are you doing about it?

The fact that you’re here means you want to change, so all I say is start from here and see how you go! As long as you’re in a (healthy) deficit, you will always see weight loss. Remember, a healthy amount to lose is a pound a week - please also look after your body. It’s what keeps you alive! It’s not worth starving yourself to lose more at the cost of your health, especially now! Have fun with it and embrace the journey for what it is!

Good luck!

Lix x